Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Food Safety and Its Effects on Human Health in Punjab, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61506/01.00231Keywords:
Knowledge, Attitude, Food Safety Practices, Effect Human HealthAbstract
Food safety is ultimate human right for the survival of human life. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are at the risk of risk of consuming contaminated food. Every year, millions of people become ill, and hundreds of thousands die due to underprivileged safety of food. Microbial, chemical, personal and environmental hygiene are all challenges for food from farm to fork/plate. The current study was conducted in Punjab province to investigate to assess peoples’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding food safety at domestic level, as well as potential health hazards due to insufficient food safety practices. Sample of 700 women in three districts in Pakistan's Punjab province: Hafizabad, Rawalpindi, and Multan were selected. For analyzing the quantitative data we utilized, bivariate analysis techniques. Specifically, we employed the Chi-square test to assess the degree of significance. Additionally, researcher used the Somers'd and Gamma tests to determine the strength of association. The major findings reveal a strong link between all socioeconomic and cultural variables (i.e. monthly income, education, food preparation at home, food management at home, consumption behavior, willingness to buy, risk perception, influence of media and health effects) and women's attitudes toward acquiring knowledge and practicing food safety to maintain their health. The public was concerned about food safety and handling standards. It was discovered that television could be effective tool for disseminating information about food safety to the general public. The frequency of food preparation at home also contributes to shaping attitudes, with more frequent home preparation leading to more favorable views on food safety practices.
References
Abhirami, S. & R. Radha (2015). Detection of food adulteration in selected food items procured by homemaker. International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, 6, 5938-5943.
Ahmad, K., and Ali, A. (2016). Rising Population and Food Insecurity Linkages in Pakistan: Testing Malthusian Population Growth Theory, International Journal of Economics and Empirical Research (IJEER) 4 (1), 1-8.
Ahmad, N., & Khan, A. (2021). Food Self-Sufficiency and Food Security: A Holistic Approach. Journal of Business and Economic Options, 8(2).
Akhter, S. (2015). Food Safety Challenges—A Pakistan's Perspective. Critical reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 55.
Aksoydan, E. (2007). Hygiene factors influencing customers’ choice of dining-out units: findings from a study of university academic staff. Journal of Food Safety, 27(3), 300-316.
Al Suwaidi, A., H. Hussein, W. Al Faisal, E. El Sawaf & A. Wasfy. (2015). Hygienic Practices among Food Handlers in Dubai. International Journal of Preventive Medicine Research. 1, 101-8.
Alauddin, S. (2012). Food adulteration and society. Global Research Analysis. 1, 3-5.
Ali, A. (2015). The impact of macroeconomic instability on social progress: an empirical analysis of Pakistan (Doctoral dissertation, National College of Business Administration & Economics Lahore).
Ali, A. (2018). Analyzing Macroeconomic Indicators in Pakistan: Insights from Unemployment, Inflation, and Interest Rates. Journal of Business and Economic Options, 5(2), 17-28.
Ali, S.R. & H.K. Muhammad. (2016). Adulteration in dairy products and their risk to human life: On the verge of crying over spoiled milk. Discovery Science, 12(29), 25-27.
Al-Shabib, N.A., S.H. Mosilhey, & F.M. Husain. (2016). Cross-sectional study on food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of male food handlers employed in restaurants of King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Food Control, 59, 212-7.
Amiri, P., F. Ghofranipour, F. Ahmadi, F. Hosseinpanah, A. Montazeri, S. Jalali-Farahani & A. Rastegarpour. (2011). Barriers to a healthy lifestyle among obese adolescents: A qualitative study from Iran. International Journal of Public Health, 56(2), 181-189.
Amnah, J., S. Amna & A. Atta. (2016). Adulterations of parenteral drugs: Desired health dealt hazard. Discovery Science, 12(29), 22-24
Barber, N., & J.M. Scarcelli. (2009). Clean restrooms: how important are they to restaurant consumers? Journal of Foodservice, 20(6), 309-320.
Boyland, E.J. & J.C.G. Halford. (2013). Television advertising and branding: Effects on eating behaviour and food preferences in children. 62, 236-241.
Bradsher, K. (2008). China begins inquiry into tainted baby formula. The New York Times.
Chapman, B., T. Eversley, K. Fillion, T. MacLaurin & D. Powell. (2010). Assessment of food safety practices of food service food handlers (risk assessment data): testing a communication intervention (evaluation of tools). Journal of Food Protection. 73(6), 1101-7.
Ferreira, J.S., E.S. Cerqueira, J.S. Carvalho, L.C. Oliveira, W.L.R. Costa & R.C.C. Almeida. (2013). Conhecimento, atitudes e prÁticas em seguranÇa alimentar de manipuladores de alimentos em hospitais pÚblicos de salvador, bahia. Revista Baiana de Saúde Pública. 37(1), 35-55.
Foods. (2010). About 200,000-400,000 food poison victims each year; consumers shouldn’t be trial target.
Frewer, L.J., C. Howard, D. Hedderley & R. Shepherd (1996). What determines trust in information about food-related risks? Underlying psychological constructs. Risk Analysis. 16(4), 473–486.
Grace, D. (2015). Food Safety in Low and Middle Income Countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(9), 10490–10507.
Gresshma, R. & M.R. Paul. (2012). Qualitative and quantitative detection of Rhodamine B extracted from different food items using visible spectrophotometry. Malaysian Journal of Forensic Sciences, 3, 36-40.
Hsu, S.Y., C.C. Chang & T.T. Lin. (2016). An analysis of purchase intentions toward organic food on health consciousness and food safety with/under structural equation modeling. British Food Journal, 118(1), 200-216.
Hume, S. (2003). Research finds posted grades help hygiene. Restaurants & Institutions, 113(27), 71.
Jain, R.N., Sharma & K. Radhapyari. (2009). Removal of hazardous azo dye metanill yellow from industrial waste water using electrochemical techniques. Journal of Applied Electro-Chemistry, 27, 43-52.
Karimi-Shahanjarini, A., N. Omidvar, M. Bazargan, A. Rashidian, R. Majdzadeh & D. Shojaeizadeh. (2010). Iranian female adolescent’s views on unhealthy snacks consumption: A qualitative study. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 39(3), 92-101.
Kaushik, J.S., M. Narang & A. Parakh. 2011. Fast food consumption in children. Indian Pediatrics, 48(2), 97-101.
Liao, C., X. Zhou & Zhao D. (2018). An augmented risk information seeking model: Perceived food safety risk related to food recalls. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 1800.
MacLeod, C. (2012). Chinese despair at endless food-safety scares. USA Today.
Magistad, M.K. (2012). Blogger Wu Heng, A champion of food safety in china. Ellisville: The PRI’s World.
Martin, R.B., T. Hogg & J.G. Otero. (2012). Food handlers’ knowledge on food hygiene: The case of a catering company in Portugal. Food Control, 23(1), 184-90.
Ng, M., T. Fleming, M. Robinson, B. Thomson & N. Graetz. (2014). Global, regional and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet, 384(9945), 766-781.
Nichter, M. (2009). Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say About Dieting. London: Harvard University Press.
Nida, Y. (2016). Raw sugarcane juice spreading hepatitis in Pakistan. Discovery Science, 12(30), 36-38.
Qasim, M., & Tariq, M. (2019). Determinants of Food Insecurity: A Comparative Analysis of General and Farmer Households in Pakistan. Journal of Business and Economic Options, 6(4).
Raza, A., F. Sultan, A. Mahboob, S. Nizammudin & S.H. Nazeer. (2014). Salmonella bacteraemia among healthcare workers and their dependents. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association, 64(7), 748-50.
Sadashiv, K. R. (2023). Foreign Direct Investment Dynamics and Economic Growth in the Case of India. Journal of Business and Economic Options, 10(1), 45-52.
Sheeran, P., P.R. Harris & T. Epton. (2014). Does heightening risk appraisals change people's intentions and behavior? A meta-analysis of experimental studies. Psychological Bulletin, 140(2), 511– 543.
Siddiqui, F.M., M. Akram, N. Noureen, Z. Noreen & H. Bokhari. (2015). Antibiotic susceptibility profiling and virulence potential of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from different sources in Pakistan. Asian Pacific journal of tropical medicine, 8(3), 197-202.
Soares, L.S., R.C.C. Almeida, E.S. Cerqueira, J.S. Carvalho & I.L. Nunes. (2012). Knowledge, attitudes and practices in food safety and the presence of coagulase-positive staphylococci on hands of food handlers in the schools of Camaçari, Brazil. Food Control, 27(1), 206-13.
Tesfay, M. (2021). Understanding Food Security: Perspectives on National Self-Sufficiency. Journal of Business and Economic Options, 8(3).
World Health Organization Global Estimates and Regional Comparisons of the Burden of Foodborne Disease in (2010). PLoS Medicine, 12(12), 1001923.
Worsfold, D. (2006b). Eating out: consumer perceptions of food safety. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 16(3), 219-229.
Yarrow, L., V.M. Remig & M.M. Higgins. (2009). Food safety educational intervention positively influences college students' food safety attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and self-reported practices. Journal of environmental health, 71(6), 30-5.
Yeleliere, E., S.J. Cobbina & Z.I. Abubakari. (2017). Review of Microbial Food Contamination and Food Hygiene in Selected Capital Cities of Ghana. Cogent Food and Agriculture 3(1), 1–13.
